Written by Adam Horth

We live in an era where people can be quick to assert their rights, but often slow to embrace their responsibilities. At Smartre Training, we advise our leaders to instil a culture of accountability where people take ownership of doing winning actions, in large quantities, consistently.

Like everything in life, there are right actions and wrong actions. The right sales actions lead to listings, sales, price reductions, and, ultimately, properties settled and fees received. The wrong actions waste time. They may create the illusion of productivity but they don’t generate results.

In 20 years of working with real estate agents, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and interviewing hundreds of top performers, and I’ve noticed they share key attributes. (Many of these interviews can be found on The Smartre Podcast).

One of the most defining traits of successful salespeople is this: they don’t wait for their principals to apply pressure – they apply pressure to themselves. They hold themselves accountable for taking the right actions, ensuring their leaders never have to.

When it comes to accountability, ten two-letter words sum it up perfectly:

“If it is to be, it is up to me.”

Nobody else is responsible for making you successful. While others can support and guide you, success ultimately rests in your hands.

You have the choice to:

• Set goals, create a plan, and follow through – or not.

• Control your mindset. You can blame the market for poor results and become a ‘market victim,’ or you can take responsibility, act decisively, find listings, adjust overpriced properties, and connect with motivated buyers.

• Establish high standards and hold yourself to them – or not.

At the end of the day, it’s simple: you either do, or you don’t.

And if you don’t, there’s no one else to blame.

Hold yourself accountable. Your success is in your hands. It always has been.